eishiya reviewed Victorian Advertisements by Leonard de Vries
Fascinating
4 stars
Consisting almost entirely of advertisements from 1875-1900 magazines, newspapers, and almanacs, interrupted only by section introductions that provide a little bit of context, "Victorian Advertisements" is a treasure trove. The selection of adverts is varied and the printing quality is superb. The pages are dense with multitudes of adverts large and small, and it's easy to spend hours looking through this book and still find something new the next time you pick it up.
Since all the adverts are from print media, from the Queen and Illustrated London News most heavily, this book represents only one of many types of Victorian advertising. The papers represented cater mostly to general audience, so there aren't many specialised products or services on display. Still, the book is fascinating, and has many art styles. Even if you're not looking to write or draw any Victorian-esque adverts yourself, this collection is worth a look because …
Consisting almost entirely of advertisements from 1875-1900 magazines, newspapers, and almanacs, interrupted only by section introductions that provide a little bit of context, "Victorian Advertisements" is a treasure trove. The selection of adverts is varied and the printing quality is superb. The pages are dense with multitudes of adverts large and small, and it's easy to spend hours looking through this book and still find something new the next time you pick it up.
Since all the adverts are from print media, from the Queen and Illustrated London News most heavily, this book represents only one of many types of Victorian advertising. The papers represented cater mostly to general audience, so there aren't many specialised products or services on display. Still, the book is fascinating, and has many art styles. Even if you're not looking to write or draw any Victorian-esque adverts yourself, this collection is worth a look because it reveals so much about the pesky problems people had, and what they aspired to.
"Victorian Advertisements" can be challenging to find, but if you come across it for a reasonable price and have any interest at all in the second half of the Victorian era, get it.